Where The Heart Is
by Damion Starr
Summary: Home is where you make it; where your heart is. (Slash: ShepFord, tag to "Home".)


Title: Where The Heart Is  
Author: Damion Starr  
Archive: WWOMB, Area 52, and Stargate: Atlantis  
Category: Slash, episode-related  
Rating: 13, PG-13, you get the idea  
Pairing: Shep/Ford (Duh!)  
Summary: Home is where you make it; where your heart is.  
Warnings: Mention of suicide  
Season/Episode: Season 1, "Home"  
Spoilers: "Home"  
Author's Note: Takes place after "Home", inspired by a discussion in my Aiden Ford LJ community about his backstory and the significance behind the events of "Home" (ie. Why he was getting shipped back to Antarctica and rather depressed in his reality.)

"Why would you want to see dead friends?"  
"I didn't **want** to," John Sheppard replied pointedly. "I just thought that something was off, and how weird it would be if they showed up, and bam, there they were," John shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I didn't mean for them to show up, they just did." Rodney McKay visibly shuddered.  
"Still creepy."  
"My people would consider an experience such as that enlightening." Teyla Emmagan sagely interjected.  
"Well, that's you Teyla."  
John watched the following argument (well, argument from Rodney, calm replies from Teyla) with a faint smile, until his gaze fell on Aiden Ford.  
The young lieutenant sat just on the other side of the briefing table, but he might as well have been miles away. Aiden was staring blankly at his hands, which were folded neatly on the table. Something in the Marine's eyes set off the klaxons in John's mind.  
"What about you, Ford?" Sheppard heard himself ask. Aiden looked up, startled out of his thoughts.  
"What?" John leaned forward and folded his hands.  
"What did you see?" Aiden hesitantly met his commanding officer's gaze.  
"Oh, you know. The usual," Aiden licked his lips and cleared his throat. Neither man noticed that Teyla and Rodney had stopped talking and were now watching them with great interest.  
"No, I don't. Enlighten me,"  
"It was nothing, drop it!" Aiden snapped, then, before anyone could react, jumped to his feet and fled the briefing room. The three left behind were silent for a long time, Rodney and Teyla staring at John, who was staring at the ajar door. Finally, John, without a word, got up and followed his 2IC.

"Aiden!" John barked as he entered Ford's quarters unannounced. He had gone with the full intention of chewing out the officer, but was brought up short when he saw Aiden stretched out on his bed in the dark with one arm thrown over his eyes. The door closed behind John, leaving him temporarily blind.  
"Go away, Major," Aiden's quiet voice drifted out of the black. "Please."  
John's eyes finally adjusted, and he saw Aiden roll over onto his side, turning his back to his commanding officer. John felt a pang of empathy, and his anger quickly dissipated. "Aiden," John said softly, sitting on the edge of Ford's narrow bed. "What did you see?" This time, John waited patiently through the silence.  
"...I saw how it's always been," Aiden's emotionless voice disturbed John, but he said nothing. "They were going to ship me off to Antarctica. Just as I was getting comfortable..." Aiden shook his head, trailing off for a moment. He felt compelled to fill the unbearable silence. "My dad left my mom when she was pregnant. I was about six when...she...killed herself," John felt the shudder that coursed through Aiden's body through the mattress. "...I spent my whole childhood getting shipped from one foster home to another. I never spent more than a year anywhere, because...they couldn't handle me. Too much emotional baggage...I guess finding your mom hanging from the living room ceiling fan is...it sticks with you," John could hear the tears in the young man's voice and looked over at him, against his better judgement. "I had no family until about a year ago. My grandparents, my mom's parents, finally found me," Aiden gripped his sides and grit his teeth against the sob rising in his throat. "They-they tried to make it up to me, and I love them, but...but I have no home. I never have." His voice cracked, and John's heart broke.  
Without thinking, John laid on his side, against Aiden's back, propping himself up on one elbow and slipping one arm around the slim body. "That's not true, Aiden, and you know it. You have a home," John softly touched Aiden's chin and turned the painfully young, impossibly beautiful face toward him. "It's right here. This is your home. We're your family. McKay, Teyla, Liz...me," His words hung in the air with incredible significance. "We're not going anywhere, Aiden," John whispered, his gaze dropping to Aiden's lips when the Marine licked them self-consciously.  
"You promise?"  
Aiden's dark eyes burned into John's, searching for an answer. John, rather than speaking, closed the space between them and softly kissed Aiden's full lips. It was brief, short, but held a promise of something more later.  
"With everything I am."  
They kissed again, more passionately this time, as John slid his hand down Aiden's arm. Their fingers intertwined, and they held onto each other like they would never let go.

Fini


End file.
